Well, today I am leaving Palm Springs to return to Dallas. As it turns out, Greg will not be coming with me. Since he has settled on the house he wants, and since the negotiations are just beginning, he and Ralph have decided that it would be best for him to stay another couple of days to see whether they can get everything worked out and Greg can consummate the purchase of the house. There are financial and legal angles to work out, even presupposing that the seller finds whatever offer Greg makes to be acceptable.
I, myself, have a flight just after noon from Palm Springs to Dallas, and so we are leaving for the airport around ten. Before I left Ralph and Blade's house, I wanted to get some good pictures of their pool area which, while not as dramatic as the pool area at the house Greg wants, was still quite nice. This morning the sun is shining and the air is clear, so I have made a movie of Ralph's entire back patio and yard, and you can watch that movie here.
About ten o'clock, we left the house. Greg wanted to drive over by Palm Canyon for a nostalgia trip, and so we headed that way. As we drove, I was taking some pictures, one of which I took at the end of Davall where it runs into a very famous street in Palm Springs. You can see that picture
here.
The former President and his wife are, of course, probably the most famous citizens of Rancho Mirage, as he came here to retire after leaving office. His wife, of course, created the Betty Ford Center, which is also famous in its own right for the work it does with addictions of various kinds for the rich, famous and the not-so-rich-and-famous.
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Driving Along South Palm Canyon Drive
When we got over to Palm Canyon Drive, we headed north towards town. Pretty soon, we passed the entrance to yet another upscale development- this one called "The Lodge." And, like so many of the other developments that we have seen, this one had a pretty
impressive waterfall
out front. I thought it was impressive enough to also deserve a movie, and so I filmed one. During the narration, you will discover a little-known bit of trivia about this development (trivia provided by Ralph). And if you don't remember who 'Ryan' was, just recall the TV program "The Bachelor." You can watch the movie here.
I mentioned that Greg wanted to come this way to the airport for nostalgia reasons, and I knew what they were. Way back in 1981, Greg moved from San Francisco to Dallas, and I flew to San Francisco to ride with him on the trip. At the time, he owned a moderate-sized vacation trailer, and he was towing it, and so I thought he might need some help along the way. We drove down Interstate 5 to Los Angeles, and then east on Interstate 10 all the way to Texas. We spent the night in Palm Springs, and Greg wanted to see if the place we stayed was still here. Indeed it was, and we spent a few minutes walking around the grounds of the first gay resort that I had ever seen, much less stayed at. I took a movie (for both our benefits), and you can watch that movie here.
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My Flight Home from Palm Springs
Well, it is just after noon here in Palm Springs, and I have said good-bye to Greg and Ralph, made it through security and am now seated in my window seat in First Class (thanks, Greg!) on the plane you see here. I want to show you some pictures and movies of Palm Springs, our takeoff and climbout, and one or two pictures from down the valley. There is not much to be said about the various pictures, except to tell you what they show, and the same holds true for the movies.
As the plane was taxiing around, I took pictures of the Coachella Valley and Palm Springs in both directions. First, here is a view of Palm Springs
looking southeast
slightly down the valley, away from Palm Springs, and towards the other Desert Cities. And here is a view
looking southwest
across Palm Springs towards the San Jacinto Mountains, into which I hiked two days ago.
Now for the takeoff.
I have taken a sequence of four movies. The first begins as we start our takeoff roll down the runway towards the west. The second is the first half of our right turn around to the north, and the third is the remainder of our turn around to the east. The fourth movie has us climbing towards the east with Palm Springs south of us. You can watch those movies using the players below:
Next, there is a movie of our passage over some of the Desert Cities east of Palm Springs, and you can watch that movie with the player at left. Finally, about ten minutes out from take-off is a view of
the Salton Sea,
which marks the eastern end of the Coachella Valley.
My visit with Greg to Palm Springs was certainly a nice one, and I am happy that Greg has found a place to live (as I found out later that his final offer was accepted and that he will be moving within two months). I will be sorry to see Greg so far away, but I hope he will be happy in such a lovely area.
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